Wish You Were Here

Earlier this week, I endured a full day of travel on planes, trains, and automobiles to The Hamptons in New York to attend a reception at The Wine Stand at Wölffer Estate. Why go through so much trouble for sparkling rosé? Well, the event celebrated the launch of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s upcoming Grand Exhibition, "Wish You Were Here: Tourism in the Palm Beaches," and I was announced as its official Artist in Residence!

The exhibition explores the development of the tourism industry in Palm Beach County over the past 150 years, and it will be open to the public from November 15, 2024 until June 28, 2025. It will “transport you with celebrities, artifacts, and stories about experiences that residents enjoy year-round” and I am thrilled to create original artwork to complement that mission.

The older I get the more I appreciate history, and as I enter my fourth “season” in Palm Beach, I am thrilled to learn more about the place that has become my home base. I thoroughly enjoy the research phase required for a new painting, and I have spent the last few weeks with my nose in the Historical Society’s archives. There is no shortage of inspiring maps, postcards, photographs and video that I will use to craft an original composition that helps tell the story of tourism in Palm Beach County. I can’t wait to share that painting with you in a few months!

Save the date for November 14, 2024 for the Grand Opening reception at the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in West Palm Beach. Tickets go on sale soon and I will be sure to provide an update at that time. You won’t want to miss it!

Click here to learn more about the exhibition and its generous supporters. 

All the best,
Kyle